What are the Different Payment Methods Available in Online Casinos?

There are lots of big decisions that have to be made when you are gambling online. Apart from choosing the casino you are going to play at, the decision of which payment method you are going to use is arguably the biggest.

There are many factors that are going to play into this decision. These include security, speed of payment, convenience, and in some cases, even the law. Players in the UK have been prohibited from gambling using credit cards as of April 2020, which does restrict options for some players.

How to Decide?

Knowing which payment method is right for you can be tricky, so let’s take a more detailed look at some of the most popular payment methods at online casinos.

Credit and Debit Cards

Credit and debit cards remain the most popular ways of transferring money to and from your online gambling account, and almost every online casino on the internet will allow you to deposit and withdraw funds this way.

The most popular types of credit cards used at online casinos are Visa and Mastercard, though many casinos will also accept American Express as well.

Credit Cards in UK

If you are based in the UK, you will not be able to use credit cards for online casino banking. The law was passed after a thorough examination of the gambling industry by UK officials and which came into force on April 14th, 2020.

However, UK casinos do accept debit cards including Mastercard, Visa Debit, Maestro, and Visa Electron among others. Debit card transactions are also quite popular at casinos online.

Withdrawal

The average time of a withdrawal from a casino using a debit or credit card is 3-5 working days. There are typically no charges applied (aside from casino handling fee, if applicable) but it is always recommended to check with your card provider beforehand. Some sites are complete with instant payments though, this will become more common for customers in the future.

Pre-Paid Cards

A deposit technique that is becoming more popular is pre-paid cards for gambling. These are cards where you load your money onto the card beforehand and they have a pre-determined amount of cash on them. You can view the balance on these cards. Popular services include Paysafecard and Astropay.

Due to the unique nature of these cards, you can only make a deposit at a casino using them. If you want to withdraw, a casino will often recommend withdrawing money into your account using a credit or debit card.

E-Wallet Transactions

E-wallets are one of the most popular banking methods used on the internet today. These services allow you to store your card information all in one place and use them as a virtual payment method through the e-wallet. These services tend to be the fastest paying online methods.

These have become incredibly popular at online casinos as they allow customers to make quick and easy deposits and withdrawals without the added hassle of entering private information.

E-Wallet Options

The most popular types of E-wallet and the ones you will find most frequently at online casinos include the likes of PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, ecoPayz, InstaDebit, PayNearMe, QIWI, and Apple Pay. Each of these e-wallets comes with their set of pros and cons but they all serve the same purpose.

E-wallets are becoming an increasingly popular method for casino players because they tend to offer much quicker withdrawal times than credit or debit cards. The majority of e-wallets will send money to your account within 24 hours, with many of them appearing instantaneously.

PayPal

Using PayPal at a casino has also been affected by the credit card ban in the UK. You will no longer be able to pay via PayPal if you are trying to use an account that is linked to your credit card. You will still be able to use the service as normal if you are using a debit card or another payment source. This includes PayPal credit which is essentially another way of using funds in a credit card.

Bank and Wire Transfers

Bank and wire transfers are still offered as a payment method by a lot of online casinos. Bank and Wire transfers involve having money sent directly from one account to another, typically from your bank straight to your casino. This method is preferred by many gamblers as it is safe and there are no third-parties involved. It is also great for large sums of cash and it popular with some of the highest paying online casinos.

There are many popular services that offer this including Nordea, Citadel, Rapid Transfer, Euteller, Trustly, and many more. Many banks and wire transfer services do charge a fee though. Sometimes this fee is picked up by the service itself but at other times, you will have to foot the bill.

Wire transfers are typically quicker than bank transfers. This is because bank transfers tend to be done in batches, while wire transfers are done directly. Most casinos will allow you to claim a range of bonus offers and promotions using these methods.

No Deposits

Some online casinos offer a “no deposit bonus”. This is where a customer gets some free credit to play with once they have signed up. It means they can start gaming without any deposit or payment. The online casino benefits here by hoping that the customer enjoys their free experience and will be enticed to deposit funds with transactions in the future.

Online casinos sometimes offer a free game too. This is rare but to promote a new game, online casinos do not hesitate to offer a free game (with a certain amount of money) to its customers for them to discover it. However, this promotion is applicable on an allotted time with a certain amount of spins likely.

Free spins are offered too as part of a bonus. If a customer has not made any payments or transactions for a while then it is likely that they will receive an offer of a free spin to try and get them back into it. This is one of the methods that has a long term plan for the casino. They hope that the player will enjoy their time playing for free and then will come back into it as a more regular thing.

Welcome Bonus

Most sites have set up this bonus to attract players. The welcome bonus usually applies upon registration and upon first deposit. A bonus of 100% is offered when the first deposit is up to £100 or more (varies according to the sites). For example, if the bonus is 100% for a deposit of £100, then the player will receive a bonus of £200 to discover the different games offered by the casino. The sites are very fond of this bonus and it is one of the first things that potential players watch. It must, therefore, be put forward. That’s why online casinos usually post it on their homepage. This is a huge advantage for the player after making their first deposit.

Conclusion

There are more and more online casino payments appearing by the day and the one that works for you is going to largely come down to your personal needs and preferences. Credit and debit cards are still the most popular, largely because of their availability and ease of use, though, one downside is that they often take longer than e-wallets and some other methods.

For a faster paying online casino withdrawal, e-wallets offer both speed and convenience but some of them may have extra charges and they are not necessarily as available at as many casinos. They are still considered one of the best for online gambling though.

As for bank and wire transfers, these are arguably the safest of the methods and many prefer the fact that they don’t have to use a third-party. These can also be an expensive option though and are best for those who are looking to transfer big amounts of money into their accounts.